Reel mowers are well known for precision cutting of grass at relatively low heights of cut. For example, reel mowers are often used for cutting grass on the greens of golf courses where a low height of cut is required. Reel mowers customarily include a cutting reel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced spiral blades with the cutting reel extending transversely on the reel mower for rotation about a substantially horizontal lateral axis of rotation. An elongated bedknife having a sharpened cutting edge cooperates with the blades of the cutting reel to sever the standing blades of grass in a shearing action as such blades are pushed against the cutting edge of the bedknife by the rotation of the cutting reel.
Reel mowers of the type noted above typically have front and rear ground engaging rollers in advance of and behind the cutting reel for supporting the reel mower for rolling over the turf surface that contains the grass that is to be cut. Some reel mowers are walk reel mowers which are operated by an operator who walks on the ground behind the reel mower. The operator guides and manipulates the reel mower by gripping an upwardly and rearwardly extending handle assembly. In the case of a walk reel mower, the rear roller often comprises a large diameter traction drum that is operatively driven by the prime mover of the walk reel mower to self-propel the reel mower over the ground.
A turf grooming attachment is sometimes used on reel mowers, including walk and ride-on greensmowers and ride-on fairway mowers, in the space between the front ground engaging roller and the cutting reel. A fairly common turf grooming attachment comprises a shaft that mounts in a side-by-side fashion a plurality of laterally spaced cutting discs along the length thereof. The cutting discs are notched to form a plurality of spaced knife edges around the circumference thereof. The cutting discs are installed on the shaft in an offset manner relative to each other so that corresponding knife edges on the discs wind around the shaft in spiral or helical rows.
The shaft of the grooming attachment described above is rotatably journalled at each end in bearing supports carried on opposite sides of the reel mower. When installed on the reel mower, one end of the shaft is releasably coupled in some fashion to a rotary drive transmission on the reel mower. The drive transmission transfers powered rotation to the shaft and thus to the cutting discs carried on the shaft. As the shaft and the cutting discs rotate together because of the rotary drive imparted to them by the drive member, the helical rows of knife edges engage the turf surface to cut through and lift up the grass blades and/or the thatch layer of the turf surface and to potentially cut small slits in the turf canopy, which includes the grass blades and crown or stolen, depending on the height at which the grooming attachment is set.
The action of the knife edges helps remove the thatch layer since the thatch layer is cut along with the standing grass by the cutting reel and bedknife that are positioned behind the grooming attachment. The newly cut thatch later is then collected along with the newly cut grass clippings in a grass collection basket attached to the reel mower for later disposal. Removal of the thatch layer helps promote the health of the turf and aids in achieving low heights of cut. U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,365 and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0249761 disclose turf grooming attachments of this type.
While turf grooming attachments of this type are effective for the purposes for which they were designed, it can be difficult and time consuming to install and/or remove them from the reel mower. Various portions of the reel mower which support and drive the attachment have to be at least partially loosened, disassembled or removed to provide enough clearance for the attachment to be installed and/or removed. For example, one or both of the bearing supports for the opposite ends of the shaft of the attachment may need to be removed or slid to the sides to free the shaft of the attachment to allow the attachment to be pulled out from between the bearing supports. In addition, the end of the shaft that is positively driven by the drive transmission often extends into a drive housing on the reel mower that houses the drive transmission. The drive housing sometimes contains a lubricant, such as grease, for the drive transmission. Removal of the end of the shaft of the attachment that extends into the drive housing often requires opening the drive housing which thus exposes the lubricant to the operator for potential spillage onto the operator or into the surrounding environment.
The act of removing or installing a turf grooming attachment from a reel mower is not an uncommon occurrence. Turf grooming attachments are needed in certain grass growing conditions but not others. Moreover, attachments of the type noted above with a plurality of side-by-side cutting discs are subject to wear with the knife edges needing to be sharpened or the cutting discs replaced. Finally, there are different types of turf grooming attachments including those with different styles of cutting discs or attachments in which the cutting discs are replaced with spiral brush flights. Thus, the need to swap one turf grooming attachment for another arises frequently. It would be an advantage in the mower art to be able to remove and/or install turf grooming attachments quickly and easily without having to disassemble or disturb those portions of the reel mower that drive and mount the attachments.